Marian Blaszczyk (1913-1989) whilst a prisoner of war in
Stalag IA. Copyright: Janusz Kaminski. Marian wrote the following "Account
from 1939". On 28 August 1939, I was recruited by 2nd Balloon Battalion in
Legionowo as Executive Officer of Barrage Balloon Squad. On 6 September 1939, we
took the equipment and boarded the train via Sulejowek, Minsk Mazowiecki and
Mrozey towards Siedlce as Second echelon to Brzesc on Bug. Near Mrozy and
Kaluszyn, after 4-hour bombardment by the enemy airforce, the train and the
railroad had been destroyed together with the equipment. After a few days of
fire exchange with German sabotage group, attacking from the village Laczka, we
were struggling through to Warsaw in small groups. On 21 September 1939, near
Garwolin, I received wounds to my legs and was taken as prisoner. We were then
transported to East Prussia, town Stablack, POW camp Stalag 1A, where I was
assigned registration number 61159 and admitted to the POW hospital. After my
wounds healed, I started to work at the hospital as the chief of the operating
theatre. I learnt the profession under the guidance of Polish POW doctors, such
as: Lt. Kortas, Lt. Wojtowski, Cpt. Slaby of Westerplatte, Lt. Muszynksi, Lt.
Malolepszy, Lt. Bosiacki, Lt. Stankiewicz and 2nd Lt. Swiatkiewicz, and doctors
of other nationalities. On 10 February 1945, after the liberation of the camp
and the hospital by the Soviet Army, I handed over the keys and the equipment of
the operating theatre to the Soviet doctors. After we were transfered beyond the
front line to the town Gumbinen (East Prussia), together with Lt. Wojtowski and
Lt. Stankiewicz we were orgainising dispensaries for repatriates. I returned to
Poland on 20 July 1945.